US orders Al Jazeera affiliate to register as foreign agent

‘AJ+ engages in political activities on behalf of Qatar’s government’

The Justice Department ordered a digital news network based in the United States and owned by Al Jazeera, the media company controlled by the royal family of Qatar, to register as a foreign agent, surprising a high-level delegation from Doha just as officials from the two nations met to strengthen diplomatic and economic alliances.

In a letter dated on Monday that was obtained by The New York Times, the Justice Department said that AJ+, a network that primarily produces short videos for social media in English as well as Arabic, French and Spanish, engages in “political activities” on behalf of Qatar’s government and should therefore be subject to the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Qatar, the letter said, provides the network’s funding and appoints its board of directors.

“Journalism designed to influence American perceptions of a domestic policy issue or a foreign nation’s activities or its leadership qualifies as

The letter was sent to AJ+ on the same day that Qatar’s deputy prime minister Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, met with top Trump administration officials for an annual strategic dialogue.

‘political activities’ under the statutory definition,” said the letter, which was signed by Jay I. Bratt, the chief of the Justice Department’s counterintelligence division, “even,” the letter added, “if it views itself as ‘balanced.’”

Mother Jones first reported the letter on Tuesday afternoon.

In a statement, Al Jazeera Media Network, AJ+’s parent organisation, insisted that AJ+ was independent and therefore should not have to register as a foreign agent, and that it was “considering our options.”

But an official with knowledge of the matter said the administration’s order surprised Qatari diplomats who learned of it though news reports.

Marc Raimondi, a Justice Department spokesman, declined to confirm the letter’s existence but said, referring to the group responsible for enforcing the foreign agents law, “FARA Unit’s enforcement activities are based on following the facts where they lead and the applicable law.”

The letter was sent to AJ+ on the same day that Qatar’s deputy prime minister and top diplomat, Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, met with top Trump administration officials for an annual strategic dialogue between the two countries. As part of the talks, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo endorsed efforts for a “2021 Qatar Year of Culture” that will promote cultural exchanges with the United States.

Two years ago, after several lawmakers called for Al Jazeera itself to be designated a foreign agent, Andrea Edney, then the president of the National Press Club, said in a statement that “it would be wrong and counterproductive to censor a news organisation.”